People can make the assumption they are going to be assessed, and it will ruin intrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation is move powerful: cognitively engaged, creativity, persistence, experience pleasure from learning/performing, achieve at higher levels, etc.
Example
Singing in the Shower
No Audience/No Evaluation Image from Flickr Shanlung
Singing in a Talent Show
Huge Audience/With Evaluation
start 42 seconds in
The first 45 seconds of both videos will demonstrate how people perform better and enjoy it more when there is no audience and no fear of being negatively judged.
Conclusion
This was true in the beginning of our class. Our best discussions were on the forums. We were writing about topics of significance to us. I must have been intrinsically motivated because I was enjoying the task. I did not think it was being formally graded (which I am probably wrong) but if it allowed me to be intrinsically motivated, being wrong in this case is a good thing. To get the more robust conversations online, the proctor almost needs to be vague evaluation. The adult learners need to be writing for themselves, not a grade.
Students (children/adults) should be provided tasks without being told they will be evaluated based on their work. If they can not find the intrinsic motivation to begin, a follow up message could tell them they would be evaluated.
Using an online course management system (Moodle, probably others) give you the option to evaluate using different measurements. There is the traditional number grades, pass/fail, and also outstanding/satisfactory/unsatisfactory. I wonder if using an O/S/U system would still hamper intrinsic motivation?
Key Points
Surveillance and/or Evaluation destroy intrinsic motivation
People can make the assumption they are going to be assessed, and it will ruin intrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation is move powerful: cognitively engaged, creativity, persistence, experience pleasure from learning/performing, achieve at higher levels, etc.
Example
No Audience/No Evaluation
Image from Flickr Shanlung
Huge Audience/With Evaluation
start 42 seconds in
The first 45 seconds of both videos will demonstrate how people perform better and enjoy it more when there is no audience and no fear of being negatively judged.
Conclusion
This was true in the beginning of our class. Our best discussions were on the forums. We were writing about topics of significance to us. I must have been intrinsically motivated because I was enjoying the task. I did not think it was being formally graded (which I am probably wrong) but if it allowed me to be intrinsically motivated, being wrong in this case is a good thing. To get the more robust conversations online, the proctor almost needs to be vague evaluation. The adult learners need to be writing for themselves, not a grade.
Students (children/adults) should be provided tasks without being told they will be evaluated based on their work. If they can not find the intrinsic motivation to begin, a follow up message could tell them they would be evaluated.
Using an online course management system (Moodle, probably others) give you the option to evaluate using different measurements. There is the traditional number grades, pass/fail, and also outstanding/satisfactory/unsatisfactory. I wonder if using an O/S/U system would still hamper intrinsic motivation?